05/12/2006
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In one of the section of Madrassa, 13 –year old Mehboob Illahi is
busy memorizing the Holy Quran by heart. He wears a shalwar kameez and his small
head is crowned with a white cap.
Also Mustafa has given priority to obtain religious education first.
“My parents told me that knowing my religion and memorizing the Quran
was compulsory for every Muslim which is why they sent me here to
become a good Muslim,” he explains. “I am quite happy here and it is a
good place to live and learn about Islam and the Quran.”
The administration has also created apartment buildings on campus which
a family can rent until their child’s studies are complete. Rabia and
her parents lived in one of the apartments for some time when she came
here. They move to one of the three- room flats whenever her mother
visits now. After completing her studies at the Jamia Binoria, Rabia
plans to go back to New York, where she wishes to join some Islamic
education institution to help her follow Muslims “Muslims are quite
happy in the United states but they really need some institutions like
this one to learn about their own religion in detail,” she says..
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Seen from the inside the notorious coranic school doesn't indeed seem like a hotbed of terrorist
Written for PeaceReporter by
Abu Uzair Hazarvi and Ibrahim Khan
Abu Uzair Hazarvi and Ibrahim Khan
In one of the section of Madrassa, 13 –year old Mehboob Illahi is
busy memorizing the Holy Quran by heart. He wears a shalwar kameez and his small
head is crowned with a white cap. Mehboob came to the Jamia a year ago and has one more year before he will graduate
as a Hafiz-e-Quran (some one who has memorized the entire book by heart). His
father originates from Pakistan and he drives a taxi in Atlanta and decided that
his son first needed to complete this task before finishing high school. “I was
at school in Atlanta before I came here,” Mehboob says. “And when I go back, I’ll
rejoin it”. He says. He gives priority to religious education and doesn’t mind
getting a late start. “It doesn’t make a difference because knowing religion is
the most important thing for all Muslims,” he argues. “My father has told me this,
which I believe.” The simple Mehboob says that he loves both the US and Pakistan.
“I love America because I am an American and I love Pakistan because my parents
were born here and I learn the Quran and the religion here.”
This straightforward understanding of the world around him seems
to have remained unchanged despite the steady stream of debate since 9/11. “I
don’t know about terrorism; I haven’t seen much of Pakistan outside the Jamia,
but it is a good country with good people,” Mehboob says. Mehboob complains that he would study in the US but there he did not feel comfortable.
“My non Muslims friends would make fun of me all the time by saying that you are
the Osama bin laden junior, so that is why I preferred Pakistan.”
Other students have a clearly different outlook. Mehboob’s classmate
Mustafa Abdul Ali, who is much taller despite being just a year older, was born
in London and his father migrated to the UK from east Africa. Mustafa joined Jamia
Binoria on July 1, only a week before the London bombings, which he says were
the first- ever shocking incident he was affected by. “I had just joined the class
to memorize the Quran by heart when I learnt about the bombings in London,” he
relates. “It shocked me and I was worried about my family and friends.”
Also Mustafa has given priority to obtain religious education first.
“My parents told me that knowing my religion and memorizing the Quran
was compulsory for every Muslim which is why they sent me here to
become a good Muslim,” he explains. “I am quite happy here and it is a
good place to live and learn about Islam and the Quran.”In the Bannat (girls section) you can speak to the girls but only on an intercom
–like telephone. Rabia and hundreds of other girls are living and studying in
the Bannat section where no men, not even the mufti or the principal,
are allowed, even the cooks are women.
But
this should not be unexpected for anyone familiar with true teachings
of Islam. Rabia who is from New York, was initially scared but after
observing the reality herself she soon felt comfortable “It’s just like
home for me here now,” she says, According to her, the main objective
was to acquire Islamic education from a “quality religious
institution.” “I was born in the US but my parents belong to Pakistan.”
She explains. “We have some relatives here and my father knows best
that this institution is the one where I could safely learn Islam. He
was right. I am quite at ease here.”
Over 600 girls are studying at the Jamia Binoria’s Bannat section,
of which approximately 100 are international students. A majority of foreign girls
students come from the United States so do the majority of international male
students. More than 27 years are so; Jamia Binoria has grown to become one of
three major Madrassas in the city along with Jamia Binoria New Town and the Darul
Uloom. Today the Jamia has 20 buildings spread over 12 acres of land.
The administration has also created apartment buildings on campus which
a family can rent until their child’s studies are complete. Rabia and
her parents lived in one of the apartments for some time when she came
here. They move to one of the three- room flats whenever her mother
visits now. After completing her studies at the Jamia Binoria, Rabia
plans to go back to New York, where she wishes to join some Islamic
education institution to help her follow Muslims “Muslims are quite
happy in the United states but they really need some institutions like
this one to learn about their own religion in detail,” she says..She is satisfied with the atmosphere around her. “I have not seen
much outside the Jamia but I have lived here for the last three years and feel
there is nothing dangerous here. It is like a bode of peace where people love
their religion a lot,” she says.
Similarly, she disagrees with the people who have the impression about
the Madrassas, which are considered by them as breeding grounds for
terrorists. “I am a student of one of these Madrassas and can take a
vow that its one and only purpose to convey Islamic education to the
younger generation in its true spirit,” she says confidently. “My
parents would have never spent hundred of thousand of rupees if this
place were a breeding ground for terrorists”, she argues.
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